All That Glitters Is Not Guilt

Sister puts away the ruler for Magi's Gold

Jesus was born, some other stuff happened, and we wound up with Sister, the feisty, habit-clad heroine of Late Nite Catechism, Late Nite Catechism II: Sometimes We Feel Guilty Because We Are Guilty, and, yes, Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold.

"You get to know Sister more [in Magi's Gold]," says Patti Hannon, who's in her eighth season of nun-playing in Scottsdale. "Here, she's having fun. From her perspective, she thinks it's a party." Does that mean a reindeer headband and glittery sweater over the penguin suit? "No," Hannon says, "but she gets to wear a little addition -- I won't say what -- during the Nativity scene," which Sister casts with audience members. Having a flock of amateurs on the same side of the fourth wall is as big a thrill for Hannon as it is for them: "I feel like they could be burning the ship at any moment. You never know. It's outrageous."